HCSO leads national “Johns” sting operation with 114 arrests

Published 4:34 am, Tuesday, February 3, 2015

HCSO RELEASE

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office led a national multi-agency sting operation targeting would-be sex buyers or “johns” making 114 of the 570 arrests across the country.

The ninth “National Day of Johns Arrests” ran for approximately two weeks, from January 15 through February 1, 2015. The sting brought together 37 law enforcement agencies throughout 17 states in a widespread crackdown on the demand for purchased sex.

Steven Spoon, a reserve deputy with the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office;

Jerry White, a firefighter with the Houston Fire Department; and

Tommy Austad, a chief inspector with Harris County Public Infrastructure

The operation also targeted pimps and traffickers who have forced victims into lives of prostitution.

The Cook County Sheriff's Office-led national coalition of nearly 70 jurisdictions has grown rapidly since 2011, emerging as the largest and most successful reverse prostitution operation. The campaign has evolved to highlight the role of classified ad site Backpage.com as a conduit for the sex trade - 64% of the "johns" ended up in handcuffs after answering what they thought were online ads for prostitution on Backpage. Additionally, 7% of the johns responded to fake ads on Craigslist.

Across nine operations over a four-year stretch, the collaborative effort has led to the arrests of more than 2,900 total "johns."

Cumulative numbers from the ninth “National Day of Johns Arrests” campaign are as follows: